He Really Does Love Me
by Phoenix Flower
Summary: very first Osmosis Jones fanfic! Leah realizes her feelings for Ozzie. Written after having seen the movie only once, so there are some details that I got wrong.


****

He Really Does Love Me

by Phoenix Flower

Disclaimer: I don't own _Osmosis Jones_—it belongs to Warner Brothers. 

This takes place at the part near the end of the movie when Ozzie chases after Thrax. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside Frank's mouth, Ozzie, Drix, and Leah all ducked for cover as Frank's sneeze welled up. Ozzie looked up and saw Thrax running toward the lips. _He's getting away! _he thought anxiously. _If I don't get back that wristband with the gene from Frank's hypothalamus, Frank and everyone inside him will be toast!_

His thoughts were interrupted when the sneeze exploded out of Frank's mouth. Thrax spread his trenchcoat like a pair of wings, and the burst of air blew him out. "So long!" he called wickedly as he soared away.

Ozzie knew he had only one choice. It was dangerous, but he had to do it. 

"Drix, how's your aim?" he asked.

"Better than yours," Drix replied.

Leah was confused. "Ozzie, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Saving Frank," Ozzie answered, not facing her. But he then turned to face her. He looked at her with a mix of anxiety and tender emotion. "Leah, look," he said, taking her hand in his. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time, and this might be the last chance." He knew he didn't have much time, but he had to let her know how he really felt. Taking her by the shoulders, he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. "Leah...I love you."

Leah blinked. "Ozzie..." she whispered. 

Ozzie wished he could stay there with Leah, but he had to hurry if he was going to catch Thrax. He touched Leah's cheek gently with his fingers, then turned back to Drix. "I need your help, Drix," he said, taking off his jacket. "I need you to use that cannon thingy on your arm to launch me outta here. Aim for Thrax."

Drix's jaw dropped. "Ozzie, are you insane?!" he exclaimed.

"Trust me on this," Ozzie said resolutely. Drix was skeptical, but he couldn't think of any better ideas, so he consented, albeit reluctantly.

Moments later, Ozzie was huddled inside the cannon. "I'm ready, Drix!" he signaled. With that, Drix launched his partner in Thrax's direction. He and Leah watched anxiously as he flew through the air, and they both breathed a sigh of relief when he reached Thrax. He grabbed hold of the evil virus, who struggled to get Ozzie off him while still staying airborne. 

Back in Frank's mouth, Drix and Leah watched as Ozzie and Thrax landed in Shane's eye. Leah folded her hands together in front of her, almost as if in prayer. "Oh, Ozzie, I hope you know what you're doing," she whispered.

Ozzie's words had taken her by surprise. She had known that Ozzie had had a crush on her for a long time, but she hadn't known that he was actually in love with her! To her, he had always come across as a player and something of a doofus. She had always rejected his somewhat inept advances. She thought that, to him, she was just another girl on whom to hit.

Recently, though, she had begun to feel different toward him. When he was fired from the police department, she had found herself feeling sorry for him. Now, a few minutes ago, he had come to save her when Thrax had taken her hostage. She remembered collapsing into Ozzie's arms, safe at last. _He didn't have to do that_, she had thought afterward. _He didn't have to take such a big risk. Maybe he really does care about me..._

She reflected on Ozzie's kiss. She had always thought that, if he ever tried to kiss her, she would have pushed him away immediately and scolded him, even slapped him, but she had done nothing of the sort. 

She touched her lips with her fingers. Ozzie's lips had felt soft and warm, and being in his arms had given her a sense of security that she had never felt before.

Leah's musings were interrupted by a gasp of horror from Drix. She snapped out of her daydream. She followed Drix's gaze and saw Shane being led away by a nurse, along with the two combatants! She gasped with horror as Drix had. As Shane disappeared from view, her initial shock gave way to the full realization that Ozzie was gone. "He's not going to make it," she said softly, her eyes wide with disbelieving grief. Tears welled in her eyes. "He's not coming back," she choked, the tears starting to fall down her cheeks. She hugged Drix, crying softly.

Drix was grief-stricken as well. Working side by side with the white blood cell, he had grown fond of him. He had even come to regard his as a friend instead of just an annoying, reckless partner with whom he had gotten stuck. Now, he and the girl crying in his arms had both lost somebody about whom they cared.

Just then, the two heard Shane's voice cry out. They looked up and saw her run back to Frank's side, tears in her eyes. Leah and Drix scarcely dared hope that Ozzie might make it back after all. "Daddy, I didn't mean the things I said to you before!" Shane cried out, on the verge of tears. "I didn't mean it! You're the best dad in the whole world!"

Leah and Drix saw a false eyelash drop from Shane's eye into a beaker of rubbing alcohol. Leah prayed silently that Ozzie wasn't on it.

Just then, reinforcements arrived in the form of some more white blood cells. Leah and Drix were about to tell them what had happened when, suddenly, they saw a tear fall from Shane's face. It was falling right toward Frank's mouth! They ducked for cover as it splashed down.

Drix pointed in the direction of where the tear had landed. "Look!" he exclaimed. Leah looked where he was pointing and saw Ozzie lying on his side. He was still. 

"Ozzie!" Leah cried, running to him. She knelt beside him, her eyes still clouded with tears, and rolled him onto his back. "Ozzie, can you hear me? Wake up! Ozzie, please wake up!"

Ozzie's eyes slowly opened halfway. When he saw Leah and realized he was safely back inside Frank, he smiled weakly. "Hi," he said in a soft voice. Leah smiled. Tears filled her eyes again, but, this time, they were tears of relief. "Oh, Ozzie," she whispered.

In his hand, Ozzie was clutching the wristband Thrax had worn. It was adorned with genes from Thrax's victims, including one from Frank. "Get that to the hypothalamus now!" one of the cops said. They took the wristband and rushed off for the hypothalamus to put back the gene that Thrax had taken. _So that's why Ozzie went after him_, Leah thought. 

Ozzie sat up. "Ugh, my head," he groaned, holding his head in his hand. 

"Are you okay, Ozzie?" Leah asked. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm okay."

"We're glad to hear that," said Drix with a smile. "So what happened to Thrax?" Ozzie told them about how he had trapped Thrax on Shane's false eyelash just before it had fallen into the rubbing alcohol. 

Just then, the air around them started becoming noticeably cooler. They realized that the gene from Frank's hypothalamus had been put back, and his body temperature was returning to normal. They all sighed with relief.

Leah helped Ozzie onto his feet. He stumbled a bit, but quickly regained his balance and was fine. Leah smiled at him. She hadn't realized until the events of that day how brave and unselfish Ozzie really was. 

She didn't say anything. Then she stepped forward and suddenly hugged Ozzie. This took Ozzie a bit by surprise, but he put his arms around Leah and returned the hug. They stayed that way for several seconds. If there had been any doubt in Leah's mind about Ozzie's feelings for her, they vanished as soon as she felt his arms around her. _He really does love me,_ she thought. _I can feel it. He loves me._

Drix smiled.

"Ozzie?" Leah began as they pulled apart.

"Hmm?"

"I love you, too." They both smiled. Ozzie leaned forward to kiss her, but then...

"Hey, Jones!" a voice called out. Startled, Ozzie and Leah looked in the direction of the voice. The cops that had come a while earlier were back. "Come on, we're going back to the station." 

Ozzie looked confused. "But I was fired, you guys," he said. "Why do you want me to come with you?"

"I think we can convince the chief to let you back on the force," another one said with a smile.

Later, a grand ceremony was held celebrating Ozzie's reinstatement and his saving the City of Frank. Ozzie invited Drix to stick around to be his partner in crime-fighting. "But my time visa has expired," the medication replied. 

"We'll just go down to the hemorrhoids and find you a good lawyer," said Ozzie with a smile.

Just then, Leah pulled Ozzie aside. "Come here, baby," she said with a smile. "I'm still jonesing for a little Osmosis." She kissed him, and Ozzie wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the kiss. The crowd that had gathered for the ceremony applauded. Ozzie and Leah didn't notice them, though. The only thing on their minds was each other and the newfound love they shared. 

*~THE END~*

So, what do you think? Let me know! And I'm open to suggestions, too. 


End file.
